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Journal World: why call current NBA players who are Jayhawk alumni "former Jayhawks?" Most if not all continue to pledge their allegiance to KU by coming back to town and rooting for us. Give them credit by referring to them as "Jayhawk alumni?"

"Former" is a better choice as the word makes no distinction between players who graduated with a degree and those who turned pro early and did not graduate.

As for the active roster NBA players who left KU early to turn pro, referring to them as "former Jayhawks" is certainly more respectful than calling them "Jayhawk drop-outs". Those players who were good enough to turn pro early, and they did a lot of good things for the team during the time they were in school here. (They often come back to town and root for us, too.)

Here's the Merriam-Webster definition of "alumnus:"
"a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university."

Note that the word can be applied to either a graduate or merely someone who attended, which applies to all members of KU basketball teams. Therefore, I think that calling them all "Jayhawk alumni" is both appropriate and preferable to "former Jayhawks." After all, most of them still proudly call themselves Jayhawks, just as I call myself one even tho I no longer attend KU. Once a Jayhawk always a Jayhawk, I say.